Incident Response Playbook

A detailed guide or checklist for handling a specific type of incident. While an Incident Response Plan is overarching, a playbook drills down into a scenario.

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For example, you might have a playbook for "Suspected Email Account Compromise" or "Malware Infection on Employee Laptop." It would list step-by-step what to do: Disconnect the device from network, run antivirus scan, collect logs from XYZ, reset passwords, etc.

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Playbooks ensure that when a particular incident happens, you don't waste time figuring out steps - you follow a proven procedure. In small companies, you might integrate playbooks into your IR plan or have a short list of key scenarios.

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BrightShield's IR Plan Builder helps generate such playbooks from templates. Having playbooks is like having recipes for disaster: instead of improvising under stress, you execute a pre-written recipe that's more likely to be effective and consistent.